An accelerating focus on doing business responsibly will force changes to wide-ranging aspects of business operations and strategy - Societal expectations of businesses have shifted fundamentally over the past five years....more
On 24 July 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA") published an opinion on the sustainable finance regulatory framework (the "ESMA Opinion"), which outlines the ESMA's long-term vision for the functioning...more
Implementation: The Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) supplementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 (EU Securitisation Regulation) on Principal Adverse Impacts (PAI) of simple, transparent and standardised (STS)...more
On 24 July 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published an opinion (the “Opinion”) outlining its long-term vision for the functioning of the European Union’s sustainable finance framework (the...more
Welcome to the second edition of our Horizon Scan for 2024: key recent and expected funds, regulatory, and tax developments to look out for. As before, we focus on the most important developments and changes that we expect to...more
For funds categorised as Article 8 or 9 under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”) with a 31 December financial year end, the periodic reporting deadline of 30 June is approaching with 100 days to go. Now...more
On November 28, 2023, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") published its long-awaited final rules and guidance on Sustainability Disclosure Requirements ("SDR") and investment labels. According to the FCA, it intends...more
In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in green products and the promotion of sustainable objectives across the financial services industry. For example, we have seen much discussion of green loans, green...more
Here are some of our key focus items across Europe and the UK as we enter a New Year. There are, of course, others, but these represent the most important themes – a regulatory focus on the non-bank credit market, risk...more
On 4 December 2023 the European Supervisory Authorities (the “ESAs”) published their final report on updating the regulatory technical standards of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR Level 2”). The...more
On September 14, 2023, the European Commission launched two consultations on the implementation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation ("SFDR"): One targeted at public bodies and expert stakeholders, and one aimed...more
On 22 November 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published three aides to stakeholders to support with navigating three areas of the European Union’s (“EU”) sustainable finance regulation: ...more
Although investors clearly recognize the Real Estate Investment Imperative and almost all firms are making efforts to reduce the energy intensity of their property portfolio, our global study reveals that only 45% of real...more
Regulation around ESG investment in Ireland is evolving rapidly with developments from the Central Bank of Ireland, European Commission and ESMA building an increasingly sophisticated regulatory backdrop. Our summary of...more
As the market continues to evolve with the dynamics of sustainable finance legislation, managers are often facing challenges in how to best navigate competing investor demand and sentiment on environmental, social, and...more
The EU regulators are reviewing the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation introduced in 2021, exploring the need for potential additional adjustments. On 14 September 2023, the European Commission initiated a...more
The Commission has launched a far reaching consultation and review of SFDR, long expected by the industry. This bulletin provides an overview, as well as giving thought as to what we might see in terms of SFDR 2.0....more
The main provisions of the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation have been in force since 2021, but compliance remains a challenge for many market participants. Here is an update on the state of play....more
The European Commission (the Commission) has published two consultations to both evaluate and assess enhancements to the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). Open until 15 December 2023, the Commission is...more
The European Commission has published two consultation papers that seek views on the fundamental features and effectiveness of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The purpose of both the targeted and the...more
Both opportunities and challenges have arisen for the asset management industry as a result of the rapid introduction of UK and EU sustainable finance regulation in recent years. The new requirements have been heightened in...more
On July 6, 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), in collaboration with National Competent Authorities (NCAs), launched the Common Supervisory Action (CSA) aimed at assessing the compliance of supervised...more
BaFin has updated and expanded its "Questions and Answers" (Q&A) on the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS). In addition, BaFin published guidance on how the...more
The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) is a European regulation that has applied directly in the EU (and EEA countries) since March 2021. The aim of the SFDR is to provide harmonised disclosure requirements,...more
There are useful takeaways for EU and non-EU firms arising from the European Supervisory Authorities’ (ESA) latest thinking on greenwashing. In June 2023, the ESAs issued progress reports examining greenwashing risks and...more